economy

Deloitte sees deacceleration

As of the first quarter of this year, Panama slipped from first to second place in economic growth in the region.

Deloitte and Indesa say the economy will grow between 7 percent and 8 percent in 2008.

LA PRENSA

Forecast:The Economist Intelligence Unit says Panama will lead the region in economic growth by the end of the year.1052110

The global professional services firm and one of the Big Four auditors, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, and the Panamanian advisory and financial services firm Indesa, have estimated that the Panamanian economy will not grow as much this year as last.

The firms expect the economy to grow between 7 percent and 8 percent in 2008. Panama's economy posted record growth of 11.2 percent in 2007. The estimates for this year represent a deacceleration of Panama's economy.

Deloitte's analysts say that the dynamism of the Panamanian economy, with its important private and public projects for 2008, will help to offset the negative effect of the U.S. economy on the country and the region.

Some international groups, such as the Economist Intelligence Unit, say Panama's economy will continue to grow more than any other in Latin America in 2008, as it did in 2007.

However, as of the end of the first quarter of this year, Panama finds itself in second place in the region, with 8.4 percent growth. It has been surpassed by Uruguay, which posted growth of 11 percent, and Peru, with 9.2 percent growth during the first four months of the year, according to official statistics. The economy of Argentina grew at the same rate as Panama's during the first quarter of 2008.

Economic growth in these four countries is well above the average for Latin America in the period measured. Economic growth in Mexico reached 2.6 percent, Chile 3 percent, Venezuela 4.8 percent and Brazil 5.8 percent.